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In a bizarre case, a woman in Hamburg, New York had her DUI charges dismissed after presenting the evidence that her body brews alcohol. When the woman blew into the machine, her blood alcohol levels were more than 4 times the permissible limit. According to the Judge who shelved her charges, she was suffering from a rare condition called "auto-brewery syndrome." "I had never heard of auto-brewery syndrome before this case," attorney Joseph Marusak told CNN on the condition his client's identity remain anonymous. "But I knew something was amiss when the hospital police took the woman to wanted to release her immediately because she wasn't exhibiting any symptoms. That prompts me to get on the Internet and see if there is any sort of explanation for a weird reading," adds Marusak. "Up pops auto-brewery syndrome and away we go," as reported by KTLA 5 News.

Gregory G. Wickett, the Hamburg Police Chief said that his officers were right in charging the woman. According to the Buffalo News, "She was highly intoxicated, as shown by the Breathalyzer. Our officers did the right thing in getting her off the road. Whether she has a medical issue that caused it is not for me to decide." Even though this seems like a clear case of rare medical condition, the prosecutors are planning to reinvestigate the case and restore the charges.
CNN reports that this syndrome, also known as gut-fermentation syndrome, happens when the abnormal amount of gastrointestinal yeast converts the regular food carbs into ethanol. "She can register a blood alcohol content that would have you or I falling down drunk, but she can function," her attorney Joseph Marusak told the newspaper.